THE U.S. PHARMACOPOEIA CANNABIS--Through the Years

So, I’m watching tv this evening and an add for gummie vitamins comes on advertising superior quality that is “certified by USP standards”.
I thought to myself “are there USP standards for cannabis”?
So I googled “USP cannabis” and this comes up :

http://antiquecannabisbook.com/Appendix/AppendixC.htm
How have I never seen this before?! Very cool
1916 (9th ed) was very interesting to read.

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Excellent find… very useful in educating legislators!

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Perhaps it is helpful for you to know-- these old USP monographs are no longer in effect. Instead, the US Pharmacopeia staff is writing a new monograph - this one for Cannabis Oil, USP. There are a number of USP policies that render the old cannabis monographs null and void and therefore they ought not be used now-a-days.

it is not possible for gummy vitamins to meet USP standards because USP standards are drug standards, and no vitamins meet drug standards.

Regards,
Steve Goldner, Esq, R.A.C.

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The USP is an independent organization that verifies potency and purity standards of supplements and vitamins.
The FDA doesn’t approve supplements or vitamins. The FDA authorizes pharmaceuticals , such as dronabinol, the synthetic singular version of THC. Which works as a full agonist on the CB1receptor , the phytocannabinoid version of THC is only a partial agonist.

https://www.aaps.org/News/What_Is_the_Role_of_the_FDA/USP_in_Pharmaceutical_Sciences_/

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Hi Kathy,
Yes, certainly the US Pharmacopeia organization is independent of the US FDA. It primarily exists to set standards for substances that get the designation ‘USP’, the highest standard of drug purity. These standards define what separates drugs from non-drugs. Sometimes companies hire it’s labs to test their products, but usually a company will just use the lab methods published by USP in their own labs. In the example noticed by Taima, the Pharmavite company hired the USP to test one of its brands of vitamins, Nature Made Brand, so Pharmavite is entitled to use the USP logo on their vitamin product line.
FDA has broad jurisdiction over vitamins and nutritional supplements - which are both considered food products. And FDA also regulates drugs, medical devices, laboratory testing methods, etc.
Dronabinol is d-9-THC synthetically created as opposed to d-9-THC, one of the plant synthesized compounds found in cannabis. CB1 receptors recognize it and agonistically bind with it to the same extent as the d-9-THC found in cannabis. I hope we can agree that all d-9-THC is treated identically by the body just like any other chemical, for example, H2O - water, is treated identically by the body regardless of whether it was created in a lab or in nature.
I think it was very clever, very cool, of Taima to jump from Pharmavite company’s claim to have the USP test their brand of vitamin, to -is there cannabis USP? - to finding old USP standards for cannabis, which used to be a federally allowable drug until suddenly it wasn’t allowed. One day it will become federally legal again, and the USP will publish the cannabis oil testing standards and test methods.

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Mr. Goldner,

I’m humbled to be speaking with you! Thank you for your advocacy and leadership in the pharmaceutical industry.
I love that you’re part of the Growers Network and I hope to learn a lot from you.
I’m confused why Nature Made brand advertises that they have USP certification on a number of products:

I have a strong interest in product development and would enjoy very much communicating more about this. :blush:

Cheers,
Kathy, RN-BSN, FNP-s, caregiver, advocate

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Hi Taima,
I’d love to say that your praise is making me blush in embarrassment, but I’m from New York, and you may have noticed that New Yorkers often have an exaggerated opinion of themselves. Anyhow, I am determined, through my advocacy with the United Nations, to change the world wide drug policy from incarceration to regulation and legalization. And to change the medical and scientific communities uncertainty about cannabis to one of certainty that this plant produces many useful medicines.

We can guess why Nature Made brand went to the expense of effort to have the USP test their vitamins, when they could have just run the tests themselves- and it’s probably to differentiate their brand of vitamins from other brands. It might be that Nature Made doesn’t have their own labs to run the test, but there are many labs that could run the tests, and probably be less expensive. But vitamin C is vitamin C, no more, no less- regardless of which lab did the tests. I think the Kirkland Brand also carries the USP testing logo, maybe for the same reason - it’s a marketing method to elevate the brand image.

Write any time about prod. development.— the cannabis field is ripe for many new products and we are working on many of the newest formulations and consumer products.

Regards,

Stephen Goldner

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I believe the historical value of sharing and educating on the past is the point to the find. Many old pharmaceutical findings have been rendered null and void yet still possess helpful values. The gummie bear input reflects the defense many use as anti cannabis fears of children eating infused gummies and dying as a result.

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They do monographs for cannabis now.

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